Karine Jean-Pierre claims Biden can't stop own admin's expedited border wall construction
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly claimed that President Biden is opposed to the federal government's construction of a border wall in Texas but is unable to do anything to stop it.
A new NBC News report described the anger that many Democrats are feeling towards the Biden administration for not securing the border amid the ongoing migrant crisis.
The Thursday piece explored how border security used to be an "unrelenting GOP rallying cry," but it is now becoming a Democratic headache as blue states are suffering the effects of a lack of border security.
NBC News reporters Natasha Korecki and Gabe Gutierrez wrote, "But with tens of thousands of migrants now attempting to settle in blue states and cities around the country, the ground has shifted in the national immigration debate, with Democrats increasingly calling on President Joe Biden to take action on the border."
BORDER WALL EMERGES AS FLASHPOINT BETWEEN GOP, BIDEN ADMIN AS MIGRANT NUMBERS RISE AGAIN
A new NBC News reports details the "Anger" Democrats are starting to feel over President Joe Bidens border policies. (Photo by Katie McTiernan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images | Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images )
The Democratic Party backlash has "created a political headache for the president," they stated.
The report mentioned the drama that surrounded the Biden administration this week as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Maryorkas requested the waiving of a "slew of environmental laws to move forward with construction of a roughly 20-mile stretch of new border wall in southern Texas."
"Though the White House says the decision to move forward with new border wall construction was not tied to calls for action from blue state governors, it comes after their agitation grew to a crescendo," the piece wrote.
The reporters described how Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s, D-Ill., demanding action on the border was "the most notable political turn for Biden" this week on the border issue. "In a public letter, Pritzker escalated past pleas for help — which included the governor in April personally asking Biden at the White House for assistance, according to a source with direct knowledge of the meeting."
The article also quoted Deputy Governor Sol Flores, who called the migrant surge in the state, "a major humanitarian crisis that we have never experienced before in the modern age in this city."
Flores called on the Biden administration to help out, adding, "The federal government has the infrastructure, they have the framework, they have the capacity to do this. They know how to move people."
The report couched this immigration headache as a "new kind of migrant crisis, one that’s landed in Democratic-leaning cities and states in middle America."
MIGRANT NUMBERS HIT HIGHEST EVER RECORDED IN ONE MONTH: SOURCES
Migrants wait in line adjacent to the border fence under the watch of the Texas National Guard to enter into El Paso, Texas, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
Noting that the problem has extended well past the southern border, it stated that, "Eventually, left-leaning states like Illinois, New York and Massachusetts declared states of emergencies, asking for federal assistance. Democratic leaders in those states say migrants are overwhelming shelters, schools, hospitals and police stations in places like Chicago, Denver, New York and Massachusetts."
The piece added that among these areas, "their situations have only grown more dire, and that's stirred aggravation in public officials who are typically allies of the president."
It quoted Denver Human Services spokesman Jon Ewing, who called upon the federal government to do something. He said, "More than anything what we’re looking for is coordination. It very much feels like this is a national crisis, but it isn’t being felt by every city equally. El Paso is overwhelmed, we sympathize with El Paso. It is a bad situation for everyone right now.
The reporters also spoke to Steve Rattner, a longtime Democratic donor in New York and Obama administration adivser, who noted that some of Biden’s usual allies in the area are less supportive of the president because of these issues. "There has been some reticence among New York donors because of the perception in New York that the Biden Administration has not done everything that they can do to address the migrant problem," he said.
The story also mentioned New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ criticism of the president’s border enforcement, the mayor referred to as "not an operationally sound effort."
Lastly, NBC News reporters quoted Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, who they claimed, "has long accused the federal government of not paying enough attention to border communities."
Cuellar said that Democrats underestimated the issue that was coming: "When you’re 1,500 miles away and you see people coming in on TV, that’s one thing. But once they’re right in your own backyard and you’re seeing them in your own neighborhood or your city, it becomes real."
A White House spokesperson responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, stating, "President Biden has repeatedly called on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform since his first day in office. Without the help of Congress, the Administration has been taking action: since May 12, we have removed or returned nearly 300,000 individuals. We have moved to accelerate the processing of work permits – working to decrease the median processing time from many from 90 to 30 days. We have provided communities across the country who are supporting recently arrived migrants with all of the $1 billion in grant funding that Congress appropriated."
The spokesperson added criticism for GOP lawmakers, stating, "Meanwhile, House Republicans continue to block the reform the immigration system needs and the $4 billion we requested to address the immediate needs of DHS to safely and humanely manage the Southwest Border and support communities across the country."
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